Monday, July 28, 2008

It is very rare that I read something awesome enough to make the blog at both Rap Coalition as well as my personal Blog. Mic Fiend sent me this copy of a piece about Networking from DJ Vlad's MySpace page. It came at the PERFECT time. Last weekend, I received an incredibly stank email from someone who had sent me an email sometime ago requesting we "network." His rant was unclear--either I didn't respond to his email (I get 400+ emails a day) or I declined the opportunity to "network" with yet another wanna-be in this industry who has not accomplished anything to prove himself. Yes, I wish I had all the time in the world to converse with some idiot who hasn't succeeded at shit on his own in this industry, in an area of this industry that doesn't even affect me or my Coalition one bit (event planning). What a dick. And the fact that he wrote me a bitter email about it REALLY made him look like a bitch! And I told him what I thought about his little tirade. I went hard on him (as I should have). He needs to unbunch his panties and get a clue...

Anyway, a few days later, this brilliant email hit my Blackberry. I dunno, Vlad probably got the same angry email from the same angry ass wipe who signed his email "Tennis Pro." Go back to tennis, asshole...your attitude is wack for urban music! Anyway, here goes:

Your network determines your net worth”

A lot of people email me everyday to try to ‘network’. Most of the time, they don’t understand what networking really means.

Your network is people that you have done actual business with - not people that you have seen in the club. I’ve had conversations with Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Puffy multiple times. I didnt’ have any business that I could bring to them at that time, so they’re not in my network.

I met the founder of Ask.com when he was first starting his company. I had a recruiting company and helped to hire a lot of his first employees. The company eventually became a billion dollar company, and the founder bacame a multi-millionaire. Whenever I’ve brought good business ideas to him, he would put up the money and help to develop the businesses. He’s also in my network.

“I’m hot but I’m broke, put me on” is begging

“I’ve got a project with a budget that I want to work with you on. We have $10,000 dollars for you upfront” is networking

“I’m gonna blow up one day and then you can take your cut” is begging

“I’ve sold 20,000 copies of my last 2 releases and have the soundscan numbers to prove it. Let’s do our next project together and we’ll split the profits” is networking

“your beats are hot, let me bless one for free” is begging

“I would like to purchase beat 9 right now - let’s work out a price” is networking

“I wanna get signed” is begging

“I have deals on the table from Interscope and Def Jam. I need to build up my buzz more so I can get a better deal. Let’s work together and I’ll give you X% of the deal” is networking

Professionals network with other professionals. Hobbiests network with other hobbiests. If you make your living off your music - you’re a professional. If you don’t earn your living off your music - you’re a hobbiest. This is not my opinion - it’s the dictionary definition.

1 Comments:

We have an independent artist that has charted on billboard, gotten BDS & Media base registered spins, gotten write ups in major publications without having to buy ads, and has created a street buzz through diligently and consistently releasing and selling Mix-tapes. This same artist has been taking his time out to tirelessly work with the youth around Metro Atlanta within the Boys & Girls Clubs without having a state or federal obligation to do so. Would this be they type of artist you are willing to "NETWORK" with?